The Virna M. Canson papers include photographs, correspondence, programs, certificates, and newspaper clippings documenting Canson’s activities with the NAACP and credit unions, politics, and her personal and family history.

Virna Mae Canson (1921-2003) was born on June 10, 1921 in Bridgeport, Oklahoma to William Augustus Dobson and Eula Mae Gross Dobson. Her father was a veteran of World War I and a graduate of Langston University, the only historically black university in Oklahoma. Both her parents worked as school teachers, and her father served as mayor of the all-black town of Lima, Oklahoma. The Dobson family was politically active and participated in the federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, Women’s, Oklahoma Association of Negro Teachers, and the National Unity of Colored Women.

.5 linear feet (1 box + 1 oversized box)

Permission to publish from the Virna M. Canson Papers must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.